Government Technology's 2002 GT Top 25

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creates a digital government mindset, building the infrastructure to address the needs of today and tomorrow, and educating our citizens in order for them to take full advantage of technology opportunities, we can prepare for the future. And we must begin now, in 2002. Ultimately, connecting citizens today will ensure tomorrow's future."

Randy Johnson

County Commissioner, Minnesota's Hennepin County

A past president of the National Association of Counties (NACo), Johnson has the distinction of being one of the few elected county officials ever to become a National Academy for Public Administration Fellow. He has been invited to testify before Congress more often and on more issues than any elected county official in history.

Technology challenge: "The opportunity is that the tragic events of Sept. 11 will focus attention and funding on public safety and security issues -- and that means that law enforcement, corrections and related areas will find elected officials more amenable to funding research and implementation of biometric identification, GIS crime analysis, interoperability of databases, etc. That's good and overdue. The challenge is that the concern about public safety and security may reduce attention to other important functions of local government that have digital applications -- licensing and permitting, wireless communication, CAD for transportation, telecommuting, distance learning, and everything else where we can improve service and keep taxes down."

Edward Lazowska

Professor, University of Washington

Lazowska is a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. During his tenure, Lazowska has conducted key research on digital libraries software and has worked to forward the importance of IT research on a national level.

Technology challenge: "I think the big issue right now is to define and promulgate a shared architecture for electronic government -- Internet applications and the back office. This is a technical challenge, and also a management challenge. Going beyond electronic government, the greatest long-term challenge is to figure out how to utilize information technology to actually improve teaching and learning. In K-12, we are spending enormous amounts on technology, but we are achieving very little in terms of demonstrable improvements in student outcomes. There is the clear potential to transform learning by coupling advances in educational technology with advances in the learning sciences. We've got to buckle down as a nation and figure out how to achieve this potential."

Mike Leavitt

Governor, Utah

Michael O. Leavitt is only the second governor in Utah history to be reelected to a third term. During his tenure, Leavitt has carried out a vision of improvement and innovation while positioning Utah for success in a new millennium. Under Leavitt, Utah has been named the "best-managed state" in America, the "best place to locate a business" and host of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Technology challenge: "Economic competitiveness in the 21st century requires interaction with government that is efficient and seamless. The biggest challenge we face as we move government online is the potential for a loss of momentum as the economy slows and state revenues decrease. We must realize that the investment in more efficient, better government is even more important now. As we invest in e-government, we not only bring core government services to citizens in a more convenient format, we also change the way that government agencies think about their business processes and, as a consequence, make government more efficient and responsive. We must move ahead and continue to find innovative ways to remove the friction from interacting with government."

Georgia Marsh

Associate Director, Illinois Department of Revenue

Marsh is a recognized public-sector visionary strategic thinker, evangelist and change agent with 20-plus years of hands-on experience with demonstrated success in change-management within a risk-adverse environment. While with the DOR, Marsh developed a convenience-fee